Vol 4 Chapter 49 (1/2)
Chapter 49: Residents of the Dawn
A place of decline
An age with an unknown future
A people who siht
Point Allocation (Desire to Survive)
Azuma was in the library on the first floor of Musashi+ Ariadust Acade
In the usual custoe household shrine at the entrance before entering Then the translucent girl holding his hand saw the librarian at the counter and tilted her head
“It isn’t the usual girl”
“That’s right Ki today”
The librarian girl leaned toward them over the counter
“Do you want some candy?”
“Thank you”
The girl let go of Azuma’s hand and started forward, but she looked back partway through
“Can I?’
“You can”
The girl did not hesitate to nod and approach the counter The librarian girl was the only one working here due to the Musashi+’s re, but she pulled some candy and biscotti from below the counter
“You’re just like a father these days, Crown Prince”
Azuma was unsure how to respond, so he walked further in with a bitter smile He was on his way to the history section He had intended to check out soht his attention
…Oushuu
They would be holding aabout that on the diplomatic shi+p below
He had lived around the Kinki region, so Oushuu was an unknown to him At the imperial palace, he had been told it was a conquered land where lawless people had been subjugated by the imperial army, but he knew perfectly well it was not that simple
They had simply been unable to teach him that at the imperial palace due to their position there
And of course, that policy existed across the entire Far East After all, a stable life was only possible in the Far East because the E the ley lines It was only natural the story would spread from the viewpoint of the victorious imperial side However…
“If I check through the documents myself, I’ll be able to see a lot more”
…Of course, Neshi+nbara-kun has probably read all of the documents here
Neshi+nbara was apparently badly injured at the iven him an incomprehensible answer: “Well, he’s been ironed-on as a pretty impressive mural Oh, but not because he beca! He beca of self-deprecatingly saying he should have become the kind of wall I become!?” However, incomprehensible statements were hardly a new occurrence with that class, so he did not think it was an issue
On his way to the section in the back, he saw a certain scene
“…?”
He saw so the library to check out books or documents
…Isn’t that the second year’s Representative Council Head?
He was pretty sure her na, she had been listed in the data about new officers She had a double inherited name which was rare for Musashi+ and she was apparently expected to be the next Vice President
She stood in front of a shelf of Musashi+’s public documents She pulled out a few collections of docun frame when necessary
…She’s diligent
He was not saying she looked diligent She was diligent The at her to his class, though
But as he watched her pull out soe documents with just her left arm, he realized she had trained her body well, which was unsurprising given the tords she carried
“————”
Ookubo aze because she looked back
Her eyebrows rose when she noticed him and she quickly bowed
“…!”
Since they were in the library, she said nothing as she bowed and Azuht, but he could not quite put to words what exactly was not good as he hurried deeper into the library
He arrived in the history section and prepared to grab what he wanted to look through, but…
“Huh? Sanyou-sensei?”
That was exactly as there using a stepstool
“The Far East Shoki: Origins? U with the annihilation was coed?”
“Eh? Oh, Azued for historical accuracy instead of to ot to the scene where Izanagi and Izanaether O, o… Wh why does e interview next week… O”
“S-Sanyou-sensei! Inthat up!”
Their voices were too loud, so the others searching for books glared at them They bowed and then Azuma asked a new question
“Why are you reading that?”
“Probably for the same reason you’re here, Azu with the Oushuu representative down below”
Sanyou smiled with her mouth spread horizontally
“Froht be re Oushuu’s past”
“Hmm… Is it really?”
It did not feel that way to hi the sa
“Sanyou-sensei, do you know a lot about Oushuu’s history?”
“Enough to check on sos here”
She smiled bitterly, but he did not knohat she meant
“Check on sos?”
“Judge I was checking to see just how e there is here After all, I need to knothem For example…”
For example…
“HowProject that divided the world between the real world and the Harmonic World and also created the Testament”
“Anti-Decline Pro-Tuning? Youwe learned about in history? Our four-eyes mentioned it too I think it was the foundational movement that decided to have the Testament made and created a lot of the other problems we deal with today”
Asalare
They were in the diplo them were still in place, but the topic under discussion had changed
The Anti-Decline Pro-Tuning Project
Technically, it was the Project to Advance the Tuning of the World to Fight Decline
Long, long ago, that project had determined the current state of the world
This was taught as e in h school It was also taught as a story in the Far Eastern language classes, but…
…It involves so much that the individual pieces tend to stand out more than the comprehensive “project”
Many different things were linked together, so one had to explain sos to explain the establish it all at once And once that was done, people tended to have forgotten what the original point of the explanation was That was hardly surprising since it involved the entire world, but…
“Um, Kimi, to explain it simply…”
“Heh heh heh Three words! Do it in three words!!”
“Sorry, not happening”
“Khh!” The idiot sister leaned back with a save up at Mach speed, but it was lovely! See!? You can do it if you try!!”
For some reason, Asama felt like she had badly lost there
But one thing was for sure
“The starting point of the current world was created by the Anti-Decline Pro-Tuning Project”
Asaht this The Gods had fought in the heavens during the Age of the Gods, but that had come to an end, they had descended to this planet, and the current age of un At that time, a decision had been made about the world
Just as she started to think about that, Yasuhira looked straight toward her
…Eh?
Everyone noticed, but they realized she was not looking at the behind them
“The partitions…”
The partitions had been lined up to keep them as hidden as possible from outside view The fronts were decorated with recently popular art, but that art depicted so
“The Age of Dawn Those events are told as myths today”
The art told a story when viewed from one partition to the next
It was an important topic, so it could be seen in textbooks and picture books too The partition art was nothing more than symbols to remind one of the story, but…
“This story is even more popular in Oushuu and Kantou than it is in Mikawa and Kansai You can see it just about anywhere” Yasuhira slowly continued “After all…it is based on past events, but the events of that past Dawn still remain here due to the weaker influence of the Testaion”
She looked to Asama
“Now, I feel like hearing that story of the past for the first ti and speculation will determine how much I will tell you”
“I see…”
Seeing how things were going, Naruze and Margot approached the partitions and rearranged them
…The Age of Dawn, huh?
That was the time period after the people had descended from the heavens but before the Testament
As a story, it was still coames, but no one remained who had actually seen it
However, the residents of Hiraizu-lived
“So you still pass down stories of what happened in that age and use it as your creed”
“That is correct …That is at the base of Oushuu”
She sure is confident, thought Naruze as sheher eyes, she asked so else
“Date and Mogaht be acting like their great predecessors, but aren’t you just stalkers?”
“It does not otten The fact reami, and a portion of Sviet Rus and the Kantou forces have inherited this will and live by it”
“This will?”
“The will of resistance”
Naruze felt emotionlessness and calm in that immediate reply
To express it in a picture, it felt like a wall had fallen in front of her to cut her off
…Oh?
It must have been an absolute sense of conceit
“Ga-chan”
Margot called out to her while supporting the other side of the partition Naruze looked over and saw the partition they were carrying was out of place in the lineup
“Here, here You’re going too far”
“Judge We need to move it back”
She nodded and stepped back while looking over to Masazumi and Asama
“Y’know,” she began “Just to check again, why are wesuch a fuss over Oushuu?”
“Um, Naruze? I’m pretty sure you know the answer already, but our position is not the same as Yasuhira-san’s”
Asama said “listen” with a caln frame that displayed a list of dates and quickly e
The very last date listed was around 10,000 BCE, but…
“This era was handled in a compressed fashi+on for the history recreation But that compressed portion is still part of the Testarew from But that also means our society uses the history and interpretations of the victors listed in the Testament”
But…
“Yasuhira-san is from a bloodline of those who resisted before the Testament’s creation That means the creation of the Testament made her into one of those who defied those in power and lost”
“So even after winning, we still have to worry about appearances and the past, huh?”
Naruze s else
“Just to be clear…shi+nto has nothing to be ashamed of”
“Probably,” agreed Naruze
She felt that was a how the victor should be, so she did not hesitate to say so more
“As a Technohexen, I think so too”
She said that with a sht smile of her own
…That expression is more like it
While wondering what kind of scene to use that expression in, Naruze checked behind the partitions The aft was obscured by thin fog Once Margot finished her safety check on the other side, she smiled at Naruze and raised a hand
“Judge,” replied Naruze while looking back to the front of the partitions “We’re good to go Can you take a look at these eight panels we’ve rearranged?”
Naruze and Naito had set the partitions up on the aft of the shi+p They were lined up so Yasuhira and the others could see them all
…I haven’t heard this story in a while
There were eight partitions in all and their art told the story froht
1: Aup at it
2: Raiant forest and the people struggling against them
3: The people fighting and destroying each other
4: The people speaking and co with each other
5: The people heading underground
6: Another Divine States being created in an alternate di at it
7: The people parting ways and leaving
8: The Testa them from heaven
That’s the stereotypical story of the Dawn, thought Naruze That story predated the history recreation of any myth and the Testament itself
Naruze re it to her as an old story before she came to Musashi+
They had said Technohexen techniques had developed greatly in that age and had been passed down to thethe way
…That was an age before the history recreation
With that thought, Naruze looked to Asama
A shrine e of Dawn and that girl turned to the e on the first partition
“First, the Gods descended to this planet as people”
Naruze heard the same story her parents had once told her
Asama looked to the first partition’s art and explained it
…Aup at it
“This is what happened in the Age of Dawn”
She took a breath
“When the Gods descended to the earth, they had lost most of their power for some reason At the time, it is said they could only use soe of the Gods could only be used so e”
“Yes” Yasuhira nodded “But the people noticed a problem, didn’t they?”
“Yes …The people had originally left the planet because the planet’s environ to restore the environment, but – with the exception of their base here in the Far East – they had provided an excessive restoration to ensure the environain”
Asama nodded to Naruze who lit up the second partition with a spell
The people were struggling against the dragons and great beasts raiant forest However…
…They were no match for them
The powerless people had yet to develop the techniques and spells needed to ht back
Inthe rest of the world’s nations with no combat ability
…People do wonder hoe could h
At the time, everyone who had left the Divine States of the Far East had been entirely wiped out
Sanyou borrowed a table in the back of the library and began a lecture for Azuma and the other interested students who approached
The topic of her lecture was the Age of Dawn that predated the history recreation
It was the shi+nto priests who generally told this part of the past as a story, but…
“There is one job besides priest that allows you to tell this story: a teacher”
Sanyou said that with a sh the picture book in her hands
It was a children’s picture book that told of the Age of Dawn, but the translucent girl in the seat on her left made a comment
“That’s scary”